STARLIGHT NO LONGER IN COUPLES' EYES

Diana Strzalka and Ruth E. Igoe, Tribune Staff WritersCHICAGO TRIBUNE

Chris Dobrzycki and Agnieszka Walkosz thought they had planned the perfect wedding. They booked a traditional Polish highlander band, hand-addressed 300 invitations, and booked a dream reception at the Starlight Inn in Schiller Park with its panoramic view of the city and O'Hare International Airport.

With their wedding just 11 days away, everything was set and friends and family from overseas had already arrived.

But late Tuesday night, Dobrzycki received a "curt" anonymous phone call telling him the Starlight Inn had been closed by a court order.

"I thought it was a bad practical joke," said a frantic Dobrzycki, 33, who took a day off Wednesday from his computer analyst job to hunt for a new banquet facility. "I was crying worse than Agnieszka was ... I'm still trying to figure out what to do."

Dobrzycki, who paid a $3,000 deposit for the hall, wasn't the only one looking for answers Wednesday.

Dozens of wishful brides and grooms, busboys looking for their paychecks, a cake deliveryman and others who did business with Starlight Inn descended on the popular banquet hall only to find a notice announcing it was closed.

The owner, O'Hare Aerospace Center Inc., of Schiller Park, evicted Starlight Inn, owned by John Wojciechowski, Tuesday because the company owed $98,360 in back rent, said the landlord's attorney, Luke Misetic. Wojciechowski's liquor liability insurance had also lapsed July 31, Misetic said.

Wojciechowski was given an eviction notice in early June, and in mid-July a formal eviction suit was filed in court, Misetic said. The landlord also obtained a restraining order Aug. 1 to stop Starlight from operating because of the lapsed insurance. Despite the restraining order, Starlight was open for business the last two weekends, Misetic said.

Wojciechowski, of Addison, could not be reached for comment. His home phone was disconnected and his attorney, Louis Scherb, of Glenview, was unavailable.

Disgruntled customers were being told to contact the Schiller Park police and the Illinois attorney general's office.

It's unclear how many people were affected by Starlight's closing, but Elaine Ek, of the Schiller Park Chamber of Commerce, said it was booked every weekend with wedding receptions and business meetings.

"They were busy all the time," she said.

While business may have looked good to outsiders, landlord Jim Caraher said Wojciechowski had been behind on his rent for the last 12 months and was making partial payments until three months ago, when payments stopped.

Wojciechowski didn't fit the profile of someone who would jilt his customers, said Romuald Matuszczak, president of the Chicago Society, a Polish-American business and professional group, of which Wojciechowski is a member.

"He was an upstanding man. He would never fleece anyone," Matuszczak said.

According to the clerk of U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Wojciechowski and Starlight Inn Inc., have not filed for bankruptcy. And the Illinois attorney general's office reported no complaints about the business, which opened in 1970 and was bought by Wojciechowski in 1994.

Late Wednesday morning, Schiller Park police were dispatched to the Starlight Inn at 9950 Lawrence Ave. after a crowd gathered. They kept watch in the lobby, answering questions for haggard couples, turning away teary-eyed relatives and keeping any activity to a minimum.

On a locked staircase door leading into the 400-seat, 20,000-square-foot banquet hall on the fifth floor someone had scrawled in pen: "Give me my money! Thief, give me back my deposit."

Among the arriving couples were Nicoleta Koutsis and John Safakas, both 25. It was more than a year ago when they had plunked down their first $600 deposit to reserve space for their October wedding reception. They then paid another $2,700 for the 300-person reception.

One of Koutsis' Park Ridge co-workers alerted her Wednesday morning.

"I started bawling, saying: `I can't believe this is happening a month before the wedding,'" she said.

Koutsis quickly dialed her fiance, who called the Starlight Inn and found where the voicemail was already full. The couple then rushed out to make sure there wasn't some way to resurrect those plans.

But when Safakas went upstairs, both the "Champagne Room" and "Emerald Room" were locked, the glittering crystal chandelier and wall sconces were dark and the only sound was a ringing phone.

Other organizations, including not-for-profits, were also left in the lurch. Mary Amirante, a special-events planner with the Save a Life Foundation, which educates the public about lifesaving courses, stopped by to learn the fate of their Oct. 28 conference scheduled at Starlight--not to mention the group's $600 deposit.

Summer busboys Joe Downing and John Edborg swung by to pick up their paychecks--handed out every other Tuesday.

"I thought I would come here today and go get my paycheck and go to the mall," said Downing, 15.